Sanitary cigar-cutter.



y H. P. ROBERTS.

SANITARY GIGAR CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED 0OT.15, 1913. 1,104,137.

Patented July 21, 1914.

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HENRY 1?. ROBERTS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 SANITARY CIG-AR CUTTER CO., A CORPORATION 0F MASSACHUSETTS.

SANITARY OIGAR-CUTTER.

Speciication of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 15, 1913. Serial N o. 795,267.

To aZZ whom t may concern Be itknown that I, HENRY P. ROBERTS, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Cigar- Cutters, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to an improvement in devices for cutting off the tips of` cigars.

Cigar cutters, as heretofore constructed, have -been considered unsanitary for the reason that frequently a customer will place the tip of a cigar in his mouth preparatory to lighting the cigar, and will then remove it from his mouth and place it in the cutter to cut off the tip. Thus the opening in the cutting device into which the tip end of the cigar is inserted is a fertile source of infection by germs deposited thereon bythe various customers using the device.

Accordingly, the primary object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described, which shall be sanitary. To this end, a strip of sanitary material, preferably thin paper so treated that it is transparent, isfed over the aperture into which the cigar tip is inserted, so that when the tip is inserted in the aperture and the cigar pressed down to cut ofi' the tip it is surrounded by the paper which is Y pressed thereby into said aperture and against the edges thereof. Thus the paper is held between the cigar tip and the edge of the opencutting device and the cigar is prevented from coming in contact with said aperture. When the cigar is removed and the device restored yto normal condition, the paper is fed along so that a fresh portion 1s presented over said aperture for use with is a right-hand end elevation,

the next cigar.

The invention will be clearlyunderstood from an inspection of the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side-elevation of an illustrative embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 Fig. 3 is plan view, Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the line 4-4 in Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 5-5 in Fig. 1, Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views of the spring sleeve, and Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the cigar tip in position to be cut off.

As illustrated in the drawing, the device comprises a base 10, having an inverted U- mally held in elevated position by aspring y so that the former may be depressed in the act of cutting off the cigar tip, and returned to normal position by said spring, the upward movement being limited by a ledge 13 on said member engaging a ledge 15 on the base l0. In the present instance a leaf spring 18 is employed, which is fastened at one end to the base 10 and its other end is sharpened to form a knife edge 19 adapted to slide along the under side of the upper wall of the member 12 and sever the cigar tip when said member is pushed down. Instead of forming the knife and spring of one piece, I may employ separate elements to perform these functions. f

Mounted at one end of the base 10k is a housing, preferably in the form of two cylindrical cup-shaped portions 20, 22, joined together where they meet, and also preferably reinforced by a bar 24 secured to their flat ends. This bar, together with thevcontiguous end walls of the casings 20, 22, forms a support for studs 26, 28, extending axially of said casings. A supply of paper 30 is vcarried by a spool 32, mounted on a sleeve 34, ywhich is loosely mounted on the stud 26 and is provided with a fiange 35 at one end adapted to form a head for one end of the spool 32.` A coiled spring 36 surrounds the stud 26 and bears'against the end wall of the casing 2O and against the end lof the sleeve 34. A thumb nut 38 is threaded upon the outer end of the stud 26 and bears against the flange 35 to hold the, roll of paper 30 in place, and also puts the spring 36 under tension so that the latter acts as a drag on said roll to prevent the same from unwinding except when the paper is drawn down, as will be hereinafter explained. A cover-plate 40 fits over fthe open end of the casing 20, and isprovided with a central aperture through which thevbody of the thumb nut 38 projects. l

The paper strip 30 passes from the supply roll through an aperture 40 in the side of the casing 20, then under a guard plate 42 which is hinged at one end to said casing, then over the upper surface of the member 12 and under a guide 44 carried by said member, then over the aperture 1G and through a slot 4:6 in the end of the member Y 12, then through a slot d8 in the base 10,

then through an opening 50 in the side of the casing 22 to a take-up roll 52 to which it may be attached in any suitable manner.

ll'he take-up roll 52 is provided with a sleeve 511 having fingers 55, which are deflected inward slightly to engage a barrel 5G with a slight degree or' friction to permit relative slippage between the takeup roll 52 and said'barrel when the paper is drawn taut by the feeding mechanism to prevent breakage of the web of paper. The barrel 56 is provided on one end with a flange 553, which forms a head for the takeup roll, and a ratchet wheel GO is fast on said barrel. rllhe barrel 56 is held in place on the stud 28 by a thumb nut G2 threaded upon said stud and having its body portion extending through a cover-plate 641, by which the open end of the casing` 22 is closed.

it. feeding pawl GG engages the teeth of the ratchet Wheel (30 and is pivotally mounted on one end of a lever G8, the other end of' said lever being pivotally connected to one side of the member 12. The free end of the lever (58 is adapted to slide through an opening in the left hand end of the base 1G and rest upon the wall oit the base forming the bottom side of said opening, and the pawl G6 passes through an opening 70 in the side wall of the casing 22.

rlie operation of the device is as follows: lt being understood that the supply and takeup rolls are in place with the paper extending between them and over the aperture 16. rlie tip end oi the cigar 17 is pressed down and with itthe paper 30, as shown in Fig. 8, is pressed into the aperture 1G between the edges ot the latter and the cigar tip, thus preventing said tip `from coming in contact with the edges of said aperture. The downward pressure of the cigar causes the member 12 to be swung downward into the dotted line position shown in Fig. d, and the knife edge 19 moves past the aperture 16 to sever the cigar tip and also shears oiil the paper surrounding the same at the under side et the member 12. During the downward movement of the member 12, while the cigar is in engagement with the paper web, the paper is drawn oii1 from the supply roll 32, and is wound up on the takeup roll by the engagement of the pawl 66 with the ratchet GO. Wlien the cigar is re- Cepes of this patent may be obtained for y preparatory for moved from the aperture 16, the member 12 is returned automatically to normal position by the spring 18, and said aperture comes under a fresh portion of the paper another cigar.

tion of the lingers 55 onl the barrel 56 is sufvicient to hold the take-up from turning backward during the upward movement of the member 12, yet this friction is merely suiicient to enable the web to be wound up on the take-up by the pawl and ratchet, but allows relative slippage between said barrel and the sleeve 5t when the paper vis taken up, thus preventing` breakage of the web. Euring the operation of the device the diameter of the supply on the roll 32 diminishes and the diameter of the roll on the take-up 52 increases, and when the diameter oi? the latter exceeds that ot the Jformer, i the latter would tend to wind up a greater amount than is ted from the supply and thus cause a breakage of the paper, it it were not for the slippage between said sleeve Il and barrel.

va pivotally mounted plate having an aperture adapted to receive the gar, a strip of paper extending over said aperture, means tor severing the tip of the cigar, and means for feeding the paper torwardv toY present a fresh portion over said aperture after each cigar tip is severed.

2. ln a device of the'cliaracter described, a member having an aperture adapted to receive the tip end of a cigar, a strip oi' paper over said aperture, a take-up roll adapted to take up the paper as it is used, means for severing the cigar tip, and means 'for oper'- ating the take-up roll to cause said strip to move over said aperture to present a fresh portion over said aperture after each cigar tip is severed.

fr device of tlie'character described, comprising a pivot-ally mounted member having aperture adapted to receive the tip end oi: a cigar, a strip of paper ted from a supply and passing over said aperture, a.

ve cents each, by addressing the .Gommissoiier of Patents, Washington, D. C.

tip end of a ci1 The rie- A 

